WASHINGTON - The leader of al-Qaida's affiliate in Yemen was killed in an airstrike Friday, a U.S. counterterrorism official said Monday.

For several years, Naser Abdel-Karim Wahishi had evaded an intense U.S. drone campaign in Yemen while leading what many analysts consider to be al-Qaida's most dangerous and active franchise, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

Under Wahishi's leadership, the group repeatedly attempted to smuggle sophisticated bombs onto passenger jets and cargo planes headed for the United States.

U.S. officials have been working to verify reports from Yemen that Wahishi was killed in a U.S. drone strike in the port city of Mukalla on Friday. There is "no reason to doubt that claim," the counterterrorism official said.

NEW YORK

Governor orders formal probe of prison escape

PLATTSBURGH - As the hunt for two men who escaped from a state correctional facility entered its 10th day on Monday, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced a formal investigation by the state inspector general's office into exactly how the men escaped.

Also Monday, a prison employee made a brief appearance in court here after her arrest on charges that she helped two convicted killers escape from the state prison in nearby Dannemora. Joyce E. Mitchell, 51, asked to waive a preliminary appearance at city court, resulting in a transfer of the case to Clinton County Court.

Mitchell, who was a supervisor in the prison tailor shop, was charged last week with promoting prison contraband in the first degree and criminal facilitation in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor. She has pleaded not guilty.

MEXICO

Woman admits to dismembering mother, sister

MEXICO CITY - The 19-year-old daughter of a Russian woman has confessed to killing and dismembering her mother and her 12-year-old sister, because she thought they were performing witchcraft against her, Mexican prosecutors in Baja California said Monday.

An official in the state prosecutors' office, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, said the older daughter had not yet been detained because police were waiting for an arrest warrant. The official says the woman has had past ties to people who were using drugs.

The rotting bodies were discovered when police responded to reports of a stench coming from the garage.